A little bit of this and that

Rebound

She found him when she was recovering from a bad breakup. Her ex had been a jerk, and had dumped her the moment she talked about commitment . She’d taken it very badly, and all her friends were very worried for her. But, she just couldn’t get to open up and talk to anyone, that is, except him.

She did not even realise how and when he had carved a place for himself in her heart. Slowly and gradually, she started healing, in his presence. His words comforted her. And, it was just good to be around him. Things were just settling down, when her parents started pestering her for marriage.

“Let us decide for you this time. You don’t want to repeat the same mistake again”

“But ma, I need some more time. I am just getting over him.. What is the rush”

“I am not going to have this discussion over and over again. We have to think about your younger sister too. If your marriage is delayed, how will we find a good groom for her. Don’t be so selfish. I’m not going to force anything, but just tell me, if you have found someone or should we start looking for a groom ourselves”

“Can you give me until tomorrow atleast?”

“Ok, tomorrow morning it is.”
————–

She was nervous. She was not sure how he felt about her, or whether he even felt that way about her. In fact, now she was convinced he just thought them to be best friends. He had never taken her to meet his family, never even mentioned marriage, or dropped any hints about it. When they went out, it was exactly how she would go out with a friend.. no romantic indications, nothing. Was he her rebound? She wondered.

Both of them were quite different too. She was an extrovert, he was reserved. She loved talking, he was a man of few words. She loved eating out, he loved cooking. Was her interest in him just because he was different? She had heard that opposites attract, but would his different nature start bothering her over time? She was in a complete mess. On the one hand she felt all these things don’t matter, while on the other, her practical mind said, it is a decision that would affect her entire life, could she risk falling for the wrong person, once again?

“What will you have?”

She jerked back to reality, to the coffee-house where she had asked him to meet.

“Frappe, my usual” she said. Breaking up with him was going to be hard. But, she had lost confidence in herself, and her own judgment after the breakup. She had made up her mind and was going to let her parents choose a partner for her. After all, they had found each other through an arranged marriage.. and look how happy they were with each other.

“Hey, there is Dinesh, my close friend from college. Haven’t seen him in ages. I’ve gotta go over and say hi. Be back in a moment”

He had left his phone behind. She picked it up and saw it was blinking. There was a new message. Normally, she would’ve just handed over the phone to him, but today, she felt this urge, to sneak.

“All the best son” – Dad, was all the message said.

Now she was intrigued. He hadn’t mentioned about an exam or anything special, what did he needed wishes for. She scrolled down to his sent messages to find – “I’m gonna ask her today, pray for me”

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42 Responses

I’m so tired of reading stories and books in which someone “silently cuts their wrist” or “the knife pierces through someone’s heart”.. no matter how poetically you put it, sad endings are depressing and creepy!

Nice story Piyu and well written 🙂 ” We have to think about your younger sister too. If your marriage is delayed, how will we find a good groom for her.”

These lines are very much true and reflects the mindset where girls are thought of as a burden but hopefully things are changing for the good 🙂 I liked the happy ending. Now I want to write a story too 🙂

PS: Read this beautiful and moving story about sons and daughters here I’m sure you’ll like it.

Fiction is unique in the sense that we can bring about situations that may not have the slightest possibility to happen in real life. Or maybe as they say, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction!! The narration was short and sweet 🙂